The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions. It spends its emotional and intellectual energy on the trivial and the absurd. It is captivated by the hollow stagecraft of celebrity culture as the walls crumble. This celebrity culture giddily licenses a dark voyeurism into other people’s humiliation, pain, weakness and betrayal. Day after day, one lurid saga after another, whether it is Michael Jackson, Britney Spears or John Edwards, enthralls the country … despite bank collapses, wars, mounting poverty or the criminality of its financial class: here.

“In a democracy, people have a right 2 know what their govt is actually doing”: here.

Greg Mitchell (@GregMitch) is liveblogging the WikiLeaks release all day today: here.

The batch of 250,000 US classified documents released by WikiLeaks to several news outlets, some of whose content was made public Sunday, sheds new light on the sordid nature of American imperialist intrigue and conspiracy around the globe: here.

US troops killed an Iraqi airport employee today as he drove near a military convoy on his way to work.

US and Iraqi security officials asserted that the driver, identified by colleagues as Baghdad International Airport worker Karim Obaid Bardan, failed to heed repeated signals to slow down or turn on his headlights as he neared the military convoy.

A special envoy from President Barack Obama raised the possibility in a secret meeting with senior Iraqi military and civilian officials in Baghdad Sep. 23 that his administration would leave more than 15,000 combat troops in Iraq after the 2011 deadline for U.S. withdrawal, according to a senior Iraqi intelligence official familiar with the details of the meeting: here.

The average woman is able to wear her high heels for only 34 minutes on a night out before the crippling pain sets in.

And 40% take a pair of pumps to change into because they know their designer shoes will rub.

Yet half of those in a survey said they own a pair of killer heels which hurt to wear but they put up with the pain because they look great. Three in 10 have worn an uncomfortable pair to prove a point to a partner.

Podiatrist Erika Gibbins, of shoe insert firm Insolia which carried out the poll, said: “So many women will be able to relate to these findings as they have been victims of painful shoes, but persevere in the name of fashion.

“The fact women are resorting to carrying a second pair of shoes means they need to do something so they can enjoy their nights out.”

The study also found the average woman has suffered from foot pain at least six times in the last 12 months.

More than half have had to walk home bare-foot from a night out,

They cannot always do that. For instance, now the “festive season” approaches in Britain. While winter temperature is colder than ever.

while 10% have borrowed someone else’s shoes.

Women on average spend five years of their lives, or 37 days a year, on shopping trips to buy fashion items, a poll for next week’s Clothes Show Live found.

It is no secret that high heels are ‘bad’ for your feet and over time they can cause all sorts of foot problems, but it’s the day after wearing high heels that women can have major foot pain or discomfort: here.

Sky-high stilettos are now injuring more women than sports accidents in New South Wales (NSW): here.

We all know the pain of high heels after a long day or the soreness of walking several miles in flats. But what are our shoes actually doing to our feet — and which shoes are the ones we really should be wearing? We talked to Dr. Jacqueline Sutera, a doctor of podiatric medicine and surgery in New York City, and Dr. Neal Blitz, Chief of Foot Surgery/Associate Chairman of Orthopedics at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital and the creator of the Bunionplasty, to break down the dangers of all our favorite shoes: here.

USA: Sarah Palin’s Brand of ‘Feminism’ More Popular With Men Than Women: here.

In Bangladesh 50% of all murders are of women by their partners: here.

The government said it supported the principle of pay equity, and agreed community sector workers were underpaid, but its submission argued against granting equal pay to this historically exploited section of the workforce because of budget constraints.

This outraged the ASU, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and groups such as the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) and the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS).

Victorian ASU assistant secretary Lisa Darmanin said on November 23: “We knew the Equal Pay case would cost money for the Federal Government, but it is as if they have just come to the realisation on what it will all cost.

“It is time to pay women in the social and community services sector what they are worth. The federal government makes choices everyday about funding, and if it is serious about wanting to look after women in the workplace, this Equal Pay case must be a priority, not just lip service.”

Dr Cassandra Goldie, ACOSS CEO, said on November 19: “This wage claim before Fair Work Australia is about justice for community workers, around 85% of whom are women.

“While the Government previously recognised that paying women less for doing the same work is unjust, it seems to be making excuses for not fixing the problem.

“Yet the cost of not addressing this pay inequity will be felt in services that cannot continue because community organisations cannot attract and retain the vital staff they need. This is the price if we don’t achieve pay equity in this sector.

“ACOSS is concerned by the Commonwealth’s suggestion in its submission that funding a pay rise would likely come at the expense of other Government services.

“Community sector workers, who provide support to some of the most disadvantaged people, live on wages that will render them in need of the very services they provide in their retirement.

“We think it is unreasonable and unfair to threaten other services at the cost of paying community sector workers decent wages.

“This is an attempt by the Government to distance itself from the responsibility for funding higher wages. It fails to acknowledge the key role that Australian governments have played in the growing gap in community sector wages through routine underfunding of this important sector.”